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Hiring at Dealerships: 5 Signs It’s Time for a Facelift

Whether you’re an aging celebrity in Hollywood or the storefront of a 50-year-old mom and pop store, facelifts are sometimes necessary for business. The same can be said about the hiring process at your dealership—if it’s seems outdated, then it’s probably time to restructure your system.

Old habits die hard, but they can still go away. One of the most unwanted and hardest habits to kick at dealerships everywhere is turnover. According to an annual report conducted by the National Automobile Dealers Association, sales turnover at dealerships is around 62%. Although this is a serious issue amongst dealerships, it doesn’t have to be a permanent one.

Just like solving any problem, you have to find the source first. Who you hire affects your turnover rate and therefore, makes your hiring process the main source. The first step towards refurbishing the way you operate hiring at your dealerships starts with identifying your main issues.

The following are five signs that will tell you it’s time to update your hiring process:

1.You realize your turnover rate is high, yet you’re not concerned—if you’re worried about making money at your dealership, then you should be concerned about turnover. You actually spend more money on turnover than you ever would if you used a hiring management system. It pays off to research and analyze your potential employees.

2.You’re swimming in a pool of resumes—ok so maybe not an actual pool, but if you have a file packed with resumes, then your process is definitely outdated. Filing folders and cabinets are now obsolete within the world of hiring. Make sure you’re using a hiring platform that allows you to store and review all resumes online. It’s much easier to operate and will help everyone involved in the hiring process get on the same page.

3.Most of your applicants get hired—this is straightforward. If the majority of your applicants are receiving job offers at your dealership, your hiring system is likely flawed. Consider conducting behavioral interviews, interview scorecards and background checks to make sure you’re hiring the right candidates.

4.You’re asking illegal interview questions without knowing it—there are numerous questions that are illegal to ask during interviews, such as “where are you from” or even “do you own a car?” Make sure you are up-to-speed with the law and try using new interview questions that are not only safe to ask, but much more effective as well.

Hiring at dealerships is a different process for everyone. Nevertheless, problems such as turnover are common in the industry and there are ways to help fix it. Be sure to evaluate your turnover rate and the way you hire your employees.

These are only a few signals that will tell you it’s time to restructure your hiring process. If you’d like to find more red flags to help improve your hiring efforts, click here.

I totally agree with you Erin. And this is something that consistently amazes me about the auto industry. The acceptance of the high turnover rate (we've worked with dealers with annual turnover of 150%!!!) coupled with the lack of training dramatically impacts profits, morale, everything that goes on! In relation to your point #1 above, I even had an owner tell me that turnover cost is "the price of doing business"; I say No More! Why should bad performance or turnover be a cost of doing business?? Imagine if hiring and training were understood as profit centers rather than hemorrhaging expenses?